'More Green Now' raises questions of what's 'green'
In 2006, Maine’s voters rejected a tax reform initiative supported by the Maine Heritage Policy Center, titled Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. This year, the Maine Heritage Policy Center is trying again. They have written An Act to Provide Tax Relief, which has made its way onto the November 2009 ballot according to the Maine Secretary of State.
The signature collection effort required for this version of TABOR was lead by a new Augusta-based group — Maine Leads. Maine Leads, which did not exist back in 2006, describes itself on its website as a “not-for-profit, non-partisan action and advocacy group.” Roy Lenardson, member of the Board of Directors and Executive Director at Maine Leads, explains that Maine Leads was created after TABOR did not pass in part to motivate more public involvement in tax relief issues, government responsibility, and transparency. So far, the story of those involved sounds simple.
Things get more complex, however, once one looks behind the scene at the political action committees (PACs) involved in the newest tax relief efforts. On its website, Maine Leads states it supports what it calls two “citizen initiatives” — “Tabor Now” and “Maine Green Now.” There is no statement on Maine Leads’ website that Tabor Now and Maine Green Now are not only “citizen initiatives,” but also political action committees created with the support of Maine Leads and the Maine Heritage Policy Center.
According to the public database of the Commission on Government Ethics and Election Practices, TABOR Now PAC filed a Registration dated Feb. 18, 2009. The purpose of this PAC will be to support “An Act to Provide Tax Relief.” The Registration also shows that the PAC’s principal officer is David Crocker of Portland. Mr. Crocker is a member of the Board of Advisors at the Maine Heritage Policy Center according to the Center’s website.
Maine Leads is also financially involved with the TABOR Now PAC. Laura Santiti-Smith, the Special Project Director at Maine Leads, contributed $100 to TABOR Now PAC on the day of its creation. And, in its first quarterly Schedule A report of cash contributions, TABOR Now PAC received $222.29 from another PAC, Citizens for a Prosperous Maine, which was terminated Feb. 25, 2009. Citizens for a Prosperous Maine received $25,000 from Maine Leads back in November of 2007.
The Citizens for a Prosperous Maine was not the only PAC to receive $25,000 from Maine Leads in November of 2007. A second $25,000 went to Affordable Health Care Choices of Maine, which was presumably behind the health insurance initiative that did not make it onto the ballot this year. A third $25,000 went to The Road to a Cleaner Maine, a PAC that was terminated Feb. 23, 2009 and replaced with More Green Now.
The new PAC, “More Green Now,” filed its Registration Feb. 25, 2009 and notes that its principal officers are Roy Lenardson of Gardner and Chris Cinquemani of Augusta. Mr. Lenardson is the Executive Director at Maine Leads. Mr. Cinquemani is the Government Relations and Public Affairs Director of Maine Leads.
So, what is “More Green Now”? What is “green” about it? And, what does it have to do with the new version of TABOR, on the ballot again this year?
In a literal manner, More Green Now supports “An Act to Decrease the Automobile Excise Tax and Promote Energy Efficiency.” The Act, if approved by voters, will reduce auto excise taxes by nearly 50 percent for all vehicles. It will also eliminate the excise tax for the first three years on new hybrid and energy efficient vehicles. There would also be no sales tax on new hybrid and energy efficient vehicles.
In a public manner, the group behind More Green Now — Maine Leads — does not appear to be led by anyone with credentials to advocate for “green” causes. According to the public database of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices, it appears that the members of the Board of Directors and staff at Maine Leads have not contributed to environmentalist candidates or PACs. In fact, most of the contributions have been for Republican candidates, party committees, and tax-reduction- PACs. There is also no indication from Maine Leads’ website that it has ever been involved in environmental issues in the past. In fact, there is no explanation as to why it is now backing “tax relief” aimed at “green” cars.
Roy Lenardson insists the lack of information about environmental causes on the Maine Leads site is not indicative of the group’s lacking commitment to excise tax reduction for “green” vehicles. In fact, he views Maine Green Now as a great example of how Maine Leads can work together with environmentalists, such as Pat LaMarche. “Pat LaMarche, who was the Green Party’s Vice Presidential Candidate in 2004, has supported the excise tax reduction bill from the beginning,” he explains. Lenardson continues that the term “green” does not belong to anyone. “Unfortunately, there is the current dynamic that ‘green’ somehow belongs to one side or the other,” he continues “but, it does not have to be that way.”
As far as Lenardson is concerned, there is nothing inappropriate about calling the excise tax reduction initiative “Maine Green Now.” After all, he says, the proposal is in part about making “green” cars cheaper. Why then, I wonder, is the bill not simply about “green” vehicles. “If it’s called ‘Maine Green Now,’” I ask “shouldn’t it be all about ‘green’ vehicles?” Lenardson responds that the bill will help end reliance on polluting vehicles, but acknowledges that the bill is also about reducing excise taxes for all vehicles.
In fact, when I propose to him that the excise tax initiative appears to be part of a larger strategy from some TABOR proponents to give voters “tax relief” in a piece-meal fashion – if voters can’t approve TABOR, let’s see if they will at least reduce the excise tax -- he does appear to deny my statement outright. He also insists that the partnership with LaMarche will become more public in the weeks to come and shares that my call has reminded him to update the public information offered by Maine Leads. Perhaps with those updates, it will become more clear what exactly is “green” about “Maine Green Now.”
Pat LaMarche was contacted for this column, but we were unable to connect before the deadline.
(Anna T. Collins is a columnist and regular contributor to The Portland Daily Sun. Respond to this commentary by e-mailing news@portlanddailysun.me.)
